FELIX DENNIS
Publishing Kung Fu Monthly from a London squat, building a $900M media empire, and spending the rest on poetry, trees, and hedonism
Felix Dennis started from an obscenity trial and a London squat, built a $900M publishing empire by refusing to share it with investors, published the most honest business memoir ever written (in which he admits spending $100M on drugs and hedonism and having no regrets), planted a million trees, and died of throat cancer in 2014. He is everything a standard billionaire is not: funny, honest, self-aware, and completely unwilling to pretend the money bought happiness.
Net Worth
$900M (estate at death)
Nationality
British
Time Horizon
Long-Term
Risk Appetite
8 / 10
Net Worth Context
- · 900x the average American's lifetime earnings, stacked and waiting.
CAREER & BACKGROUND
Felix Dennis was one of the original defendants in the 1971 Oz obscenity trial in Britain — a defining counterculture moment. He walked out of court, moved into a squat, and started publishing.
He founded Maxim magazine, launched it in the US in 1997 and turned it into the bestselling men's magazine in America within two years. He owned Personal Computer World, MacUser, and dozens of other titles.
By the time he died of throat cancer in 2014, his estate was worth over $900 million. He spent the last decade of his life writing poetry and planting over 1 million trees in the Forest of Dennis in Warwickshire.
He openly admitted in his memoir "How to Get Rich" that he had consumed extraordinary quantities of drugs and spent millions on hedonism, and he had absolutely no regrets. He is the most honest rich person who ever wrote a business book.
COMPANIES & ROLES
Dennis Publishing — Founder & Chairman (1974–2014). Maxim — Founded 1995, launched in US 1997.
The Week — Co-founded. Personal Computer World, MacUser — Published
INVESTING STYLE & PHILOSOPHY
Cash-generative publishing with no outside investors. Dennis never took venture capital.
He funded every launch from cash flow from previous titles. His approach: find an underserved audience, publish relentlessly for them, keep costs low, and own 100% of the business.
He called this "getting rich" as opposed to "becoming famous" — different goals entirely.
THE PLAYBOOK
Risk Approach
7
Money Habits
Planted over 1 million trees. Wrote 12 volumes of poetry.
Spent freely and unapologetically. His memoir "How to Get Rich" is the most entertainingly honest book ever written by a self-made billionaire — he explicitly tells readers not to do what he did if they want to be happy, only if they want to be rich.
BIGGEST WIN
Maxim US. Launched in 1997 into a market dominated by Playboy and Esquire, Maxim became the bestselling men's magazine in America within two years by being cheaper, funnier, and less pretentious than its competitors.
Peak circulation exceeded 2.5 million copies per month.
BIGGEST MISTAKE
He admitted in his memoir to spending around $100 million on drugs, parties, and what he called "recreational excess" over his lifetime. He said it was worth it.
Many of his publishing decisions in the 2000s were made while not entirely coherent. He's the exception, not the template.
FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHY
Own 100% of your business if you possibly can. Dilution is the enemy of wealth.
Every partner, investor, or co-founder you bring in is someone you will eventually have to share your exit with. Borrow if you must, but own.
FAMILY & PERSONAL LIFE
Never married. No children by choice.
Lived between Warwickshire and Mustique.
EDUCATION
Left school at 17. Largely self-educated.
The Oz trial was his university.
BOOKS & RESOURCES
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QUOTES (5)
Plant trees. You will never live to see most of them reach their full height. That is the point. Build something that outlasts you.
The Oz trial taught me that authority is bluffing most of the time. If you call the bluff confidently enough, you walk away. It's served me well in business.
If you want to be rich, never give away equity. That is the one rule. Everything else is negotiable.
I spent £100 million on wine, women, drugs, and fast cars. The rest I wasted.
Being rich is not about money. It is about freedom. The moment you confuse the two, you will be neither rich nor free.
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